I wait until my Fruit has just a bit of give when you gently squish it. At this stage, it is super sweet. The more squishy it is, the sweeter it becomes until the Fruit loses it shiny sheen. As soon as it becomes dull and often before, it will drop from the tree.
The fruit tastes different depending on the stage of ripeness you pick it at and it’s very enjoyable to pick several at different stages of ripeness to get the full range of flavors that this wonderful fruit can encompass.
Some people will prefer it less ripe as it will have a more firm texture and higher acidity.
Since your tree only has a single fruit, you will have to wait for it’s next crop to experiment some more but text me if you’re in the area and you can sample some off my small tree.
I consider Jaboticabas a pain in the ass to eat because the flesh clings to the seed tenaciously but OMG, if you like sweet fruit, it’s absolutely amazing! Not just the sweetness but the flavor is just out of this world.
I’ve I’ve given some fruit to some of my friends and they said the flavor, sweetness and sugar acid balance is reminiscent of mangosteen. I personally don’t pick up that tropical acidic component of the purple mangosteen but when picked at the proper stage, the sugar acid balance and the texture definitely reminds me of purple mangosteen.
The best thing about Jaboticaba is that it can produce so much fruit with multiple crops throughout the year.
Simon
